News & Views (October 2017)

BEIJING—Philippine and Chinese officials cited Wednesday the efforts by the two countries to further streamline and expedite the approval process on the first “basket” of infrastructure projects, which initially prioritizes eight “cooperation” initiatives that Manila will be implementing in tandem with Beijing.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has assured Japanese businesspersons that the move to relax foreign ownership restrictions in certain industries via amendments to the Constitution might commence next year in fulfillment of President Duterte’s commitment to open up the economy to more long-term, job-generating foreign direct investments (FDIs).